NW Portland parking: 'It's kind of a nightmare'
PORTLAND, Ore. - Free parking in Northwest Portland is certainly a draw for a lot of folks but it also creates problems because there really never seems to be anywhere to park.
"It's kind of a nightmare," a woman told us when we stopped by the area over the weekend. "There generally isn't very much parking and you have to drive around blocks and blocks to find parking, especially during the holidays."
Mayor Sam Adams is hoping to solve the problem with a combination of parking permits, meters and time limits - before he leaves office in a few weeks.
The idea behind his plan, which will go before the City Council this week, is to free up more parking spaces and allow residents to have their spots as well.
Zones would be created in an area bordered by Interstate 405, West Burnside Street, Northwest Cornell Road and Northwest Vaughn and Thurman Streets.
What do you think about the idea? Do you foresee any problems or do you think this would solve what has been an issue for years? Leave a comment to chime in.
As others have said, there are too many businesses drawing traffic to tiny streets in an area with insufficient public parking. If the city comes up with a "plan" the only thing it will do is increase city revenue. It's pretty obviously a shakedown and a back door tax hike.
There may be great places to meet and eat up there, but I have had my share of problems with finding parking in the neighborhood. I now avoid the place and take my business elsewhere!
"The idea behind his plan, which will go before the City Council this week, is to free up more parking spaces and allow residents to have their spots as well."Â
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If Sam put in some sort of space/time compression machines instead of parking meters, I could see this working.
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I remember when Salt&Straw and Bamboo Sushi went in there. A friend and I used to meet weekly for lunch at the other sushi place on 23rd. After we both spend 45 minutes driving and finally had to park 12 blocks into the residential area, we decided to find a new lunch spot. The problem is more things keep moving in with no parking whatsoever.Â
"The idea behind his plan, which will go before the City Council this week, is to free up more parking spaces and allow residents to have their spots as well."Â
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Who do they think they're kidding? Parking meters generate revenue. The only way parking meters will free up more parking spaces is to increase ticket writing foot patrols as well as tow truck pirates while limiting the parking to 1hour from 8 AM til 10PM and charge $10.00 for the hour. More $200 tows, more $50 parking tickets, and $10 per hour with a one hour limit will free up more daytime spaces. It will also eliminate many shoppers and eventually merchants. Then we can level it all and draw up some plans for a new Interstate-I305.
This really has nothing to do with alleviating the parking problem, and is all about generating more revenue for the city. Â They already raised the fine for parking tickets and increased enforcement, so expanding territory is the next logical step. Â Haven't y'all figured this out already?
I will do anything I can to avoid doing anything in NW Portland unless the business I am going to has designated parking. Â But that is rare. Â I hope they can figure this out.
all I know is the tow truck guys are having a field day up there. seen three of them in a row hauling back vehicles to the impound...and during the morning commute hours.
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i usually arrive early enough to work to find a spot. more meters and 2 hr limits, etc would not be great for people that work there, depends on where they add them.
Permits to park? Jeld-Wen should pay the local residents for use of the on-street parking or create a parking garage for their events. That field causes many of the problems for the 48% of on-street parking. The area is over-grown with all the multi-use buildings and the lack of foresight to see where people would park when they came from out of the area. It's time to take a hard look at how to fix the problem.
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Be it as it may, Adams finally is using the right head on trying to find an option. But this is just too little, too late, and sucks for those around there. He must have been smokin' something while in office to forget about why he was elected in the first place.Â
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Before the renovation of PGE, old "Civic Stadium" did have a parking structure.
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But the mayor (Vera st the time) decided it was not needed becuase peopel could take "the max" to events and allowed it to be replaced.
Ah, how nice of the loser. Now some of the residents will have to pay to park in front of their homes. NICE
Just remove "NW" and "Parking" from the title and it's perfect.
What do you think about the idea?
It's a half move. Meters only work to generate revenue. What is needed s more spaces.
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Do you foresee any problems or do you think this would solve what has been an issue for years?
There needs to be more spaces in the area. Having people just "move around" won't resolve the issue going forward. There is only going to be more reasons to park there as businesses build and the city expand.
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Going forward there will be a limit on the growth of businesses in the area until more customers can be accommodated. This also means fewer people who will want to live in an area where there is no off-street parking. Think of the Lloyd area. They had significant growth issues until additional parking was made available. Now they are talking about it being âdowntown 2.0â.
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I hope they provide lots of covered bicycle parking.
The real question is: Â Who is looking to profit off of this plan?
 @A74R1 No, the real question is exactly what the article talks about -- providing more parking in NW Portland.
 @felines99  @A74R1 I see your unfamiliar with Politics...none of them do anything with out some scratch in the pocket.
 @oops  @A74R1 Not unfamiliar with politics at all. Simply disputing the claim that the "real question" is who "is looking to profit off this plan." That is a side-issue. Of course, some company will get paid for constructing a parking structure, if that is what is decided upon. That's capitalism. But the need for improved parking exists, and stands on its own merits, regardless of the cynical query into which entity will stand to profit from the realization of this plan.
 @felines99 More parking would be making more spaces.. Tear down a few blocks to build a parking garage, or convert some green spaces into concrete parking spaces.
 @A74R1 That may or may not be. However, that does not change the fact that this would be done to solve the parking problem in NW Portland -- not primarily to make money for anyone. The need is there, and it is a valid one. Who benefits from whatever solution fulfills that need is a side-effect of solving the parking problem. And as a NW resident, I can assure you that the problem exists.